Chrome: Keeping up with the stream of news throughout the day can be difficult. If you're looking for a way to stay updated without heading over to Google News repeatedly, GNews is a Chrome extension that allows you to quickly glance at hot topics and move on with your day.

You can pick from a variety of topics on the GNews settings panel to customize your news, but the nice thing about the extension is that it's a simple and unobtrusive means to keep updated on what's going on. GNews can send out desktop notifications for news events or you can just check in once and a while when the notification ticker bumps up. It's a handy extension that keeps you updated, but doesn't require you to venture away from the work you're doing.